Shore power system completed

 

(Kiel, 8th September 2025) The port of Kiel has completed the final phase of construction on its extensive shore power infrastructure. With this new expansion, the PORT OF KIEL can now supply up to three cruise ships and four ferries with emission-free electricity at the same time. The port has been providing green shore power to seagoing vessels since 2019, making it a pioneer in Europe.

Over the weekend, the port of Kiel commissioned its second shore power facility for cruise ships at the Ostseekai terminal. Instead of one cruise ship, as was previously the case, the extension to the terminal now allows two cruise ships to be supplied with shore power at the same time. Another cruise ship can use shore power at the Ostuferhafen terminal. The now completed extension is the final component of Kiel's shore power infrastructure, which is now one of the most extensive in the world.

Dr. Dirk Claus, Managing Director at SEEHAFEN KIEL GmbH & Co. KG, says: With this commissioning, we as a port are completing the development of our shore power infrastructure. Seven seagoing vessels can now be supplied with green shore power at the same time in the port of Kiel – including three cruise ships.’ He goes on to emphasise: ‘We have invested 50 million Euro in shore power alone in recent years and were already able to reduce ship emissions by 60 per cent last year through shore power supply. By 2026, we will be supplying 80 per cent of all ships with shore power.’

The new shore power facility at Ostseekai, with a capacity of 16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11 kV, is an extension of the facility at Ostseekai that has been in operation since 2021 (also 16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11 kV). This means that during double calls at the cruise terminal, both ships can be supplied with shore power in parallel. ‘In the past and current seasons, there have been several days when both cruise ships wanted to use shore power at the Ostseekai. This sends a strong signal: demand from shipping companies for shore power is extremely high, and we are delighted with the excellent cooperation we have enjoyed here,’ says Claus. Construction of the extension began in November 2024 and was completed on schedule. The partners for the new facility were PowerCon, Siemens, Inros Lackner and Stemmann.

The expansion of the shore power infrastructure in Kiel was made possible by funding from the federal government, the state of Schleswig-Holstein and the European Union. The financial assistance from the federal and state governments comes from the Climate and Transformation Fund and the Joint Task for the Improvement of Regional Economic Structures (GRW).

Shipping companies use shore power in Kiel

The port of Kiel worked together with shipping companies from an early stage to introduce shore power. Starting with the daily supply of shore power to Color Line ferries in 2019 and Stena Line ferries in 2021, the port also quickly created shore power infrastructure for cruise ships. In 2021, the AIDAsol became the first cruise ship in Kiel to be supplied with shore power. In close coordination with various shipping companies, technical conversions were carried out step by step on board and integration processes between the ship and the system were implemented. In 2024, the number of uses had already reached 120 cruise ship calls during the season. To date, 24 different cruise ships have used the Kiel facilities for over 270 calls. Despite a supply interruption of several weeks due to the construction phase, the port expects a similar volume of shore power for ferries and cruise ships this year, amounting to approximately 10 million kilowatt hours, as in the previous year.

Expansion of Kiel’s infrastructure

The expansion of the shore power infrastructure was one of the Kiel seaport's priority projects for reducing CO₂ emissions and air/pollutant emissions from ships during berthing times. Following the opening of the first shore power facility at Norwegenkai with a capacity of 4.5 MVA, 50 HZ, 10kV in 2019, a combined facility for supplying cruise ships at Ostseekai (16 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11kV) and ferries at Schwedenkai (5 MVA, 50/60 Hz, 6.6/11kV) was opened in 2021. In September 2023, a shore power facility was also opened at the freight hub at Ostuferhafen, which connects four berths and has the capacity to supply one cruise ship and up to two ferries. (Combined system 16 MVA & 4.5 MVA, 50/60Hz, 6.6/11kV) With the expansion at Ostseekai, the construction of the shore power infrastructure in Kiel has now been completed.

The PORT OF KIEL is pursuing the goal of completely eliminating its CO₂ emissions by 2030 at the latest – an ambitious but necessary contribution to the maritime energy transition. ###